Paris Region invests €100 million in autonomous vehicles to connect Charles de Gaulle airport and La Défense by 2024

Valérie Pécresse, president of the regional council of Paris Region, announced the launch of an autonomous shuttle service between Charles De Gaulle airport and La Défense by 2024, deployed by Renault Group in partnership with Waymo.

A commercial service of autonomous vehicles between Charles De Gaulle airport and La Défense, a highly strategic connection would be launched by 2024, led by Renault in partnership with Google’s self-driving car division Waymo.

“How to connect these large open areas, in Dugny, Le Bourget and La Courneuve? We are going to build in a wide natural place. In this sense, the notion of garden city comes into force” introduced Nicolas Ferrand, Executive Director of SOLIDEO (the State-owned company in charge of delivering Olympic venues for the Paris 2024 Games) at the launch of the Media Village public consultation on 2 October at the headquarters of the newspaper L’Equipe in Boulogne-Billancourt (Hauts-de-Seine). SOLIDEO introduced officials, real estate developers and executives from public institutions with the huge operation of the Media cluster: 3 main areas spanning over 3 municipalities in the Seine-Saint-Denis department (Northern suburb of Paris).

TVK and UrbanEco have been appointed as general contractors for the 70-hectare project (132,000 sqm of buildings). The objectives are to strengthen links between municipalities, to connect open spaces and to drive urban development in a “garden city” approach.

Landscaping, the development of green spaces with a 13-hectare extension of Georges-Valbon Park and redevelopment of Le Bourget sports and school park are at the heart of the project.

Village and Legacy

Booking an autonomous shuttle from Roissy Charles de Gaulle airport to reach La Défense business district will become possible in 2024, announced Valérie Pécresse, President of the regional council of Paris Region, during a visit to the Renault Group Technocentre in Paris-Saclay cluster on October 11.

“It is both a social challenge and a huge challenge for the automotive industry, which represents 140,000 jobs in Paris region,” stressed the President, alongside Hadi Zablit, Vice-President Business Development of the Renault-Nissan Alliance. “We must invent here”, in Paris Region, “vehicles and mobility of the future” she added. To achieve this goal, “we will invest 100 million euros to become the leading European – and perhaps global – region for autonomous vehicles”, she continued.

Hadi Zablit, Vice-President Business Development of the Renault-Nissan Alliance, and Valérie Pécresse, President of the regional council of Paris Region.

Paris Region as a playground for the first experiments in France

Investment will target main roads, such as the motorway infrastructure (A1, A4, A6 and A86). Following a call for projects launched in 2018, the Regional Council has set up a dedicated team with representatives from the French State, Hauts-de-Seine department, Paris Aéroport, Paris La Défense, Renault and PSA car manufacturers.

“This is about building the playground for the first experiments with French autonomous vehicles,” said Valérie Pécresse. “We are working hand in hand with the French State services on this project. The recent law on mobility has just made it possible to experiment with dedicated lanes on motorways and in particular on emergency lanes. We will upgrade the roads of the national network by equipping them to ensure connection with vehicles and by carrying out high-resolution 3D mapping using the National Geographic Institute.”

Charles de Gaulle airport - La Défense, a strategic connection

The first commercial autonomous vehicle service between Charles De Gaulle airport and La Défense, a highly strategic connection used by “investors with the highest potential in Paris Region” would be launched by 2024, led by Renault in partnership with Google’s self-driving car division Waymo. This will be “a formidable showcase and will allow us to show the world our industrial savoir-faire“, declared Valérie Pécresse.

“Within the Renault group, we are convinced that tomorrow’s mobility will be electric, connected, autonomous and shared, just as we are convinced that it must be built today in partnership, in a favourable eco-system, as it is done here with public, industrial and operational partners”, said Hadi Zablit.

“Autonomous vehicles are the next revolution in daily commute. It is important for the French industry to be at the forefront of this trend and Paris Region will do everything possible to make it possible” concluded Valérie Pécresse.